Dr. Chana Poomee, Senior Director of Sustainability at SCG Group, shares about sustainable development and Vietnam's progress in realizing the National Action Plan for Circular Economy (NAPCE).
- This is not the first time I have attended the COP conference. I am honored to continue to be present at this year's event with the theme "Unite for a green world", with a focus on green finance, supporting sustainable development. Accordingly, countries, especially those in the southern hemisphere, need a lot of financial resources to achieve climate goals; at the same time, each country needs to have a role as well as make joint efforts to achieve solid results.
Discussions at COP29 focused on three main issues: building carbon markets and carbon credits to encourage more positive activities for the environment; applying adaptation strategies to address resource depletion and climate change; in addition, the conference emphasized expanding global cooperation to accelerate action to respond to climate change.
As a corporation aiming for sustainable development and ESG in Southeast Asia, we at SCG recognize that Vietnam - one of the countries with important contributions to solving global warming issues - is making very positive progress with specific solutions based on each region's specific conditions, along with early emission reduction activities.
Some examples include using solar energy (solar farms, floating farms) and biomass energy (from rice fields, bio-fields, agricultural waste such as sugarcane and growing energy crops) to reduce fossil energy.
This issue cannot be done by the private sector alone but requires the role of the Government and stakeholders. I call this the 4P model with components including Public - Private - Philanthropic (aimed at common interests) and Partnership.
At the 2024 Circular Economy Forum in Vietnam, I was also very excited to hear positive comments from the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, showing that Vietnam is making changes in laws and policies to support businesses in green transformation.
- This model promotes cooperation between parties for the purpose of reducing emissions, towards sustainable development. The starting point must be a clear policy that encourages businesses. Businesses have the technology, but they also need a channel to exchange and make recommendations to the Government when there are obstacles.
In turn, the Government needs to create an appropriate legal framework to promote business initiatives. At the same time, it is necessary to mobilize capital from investment funds in terms of technology and international cooperation for climate goals to promote implementation.
This model can be applied to small-scale pilot projects, and in some cases, an additional "P" can be added, which is People - the human factor, the people in the project implementation area.
From a business perspective, there are four issues to consider when developing a low-emission business. First is innovation, businesses need to innovate appropriately to reduce emissions during production.
Second is the source of emissions, it is necessary to apply technology to the production process to reduce emissions appropriately.
Third, consider market demand and affordability when launching environmentally friendly products at higher prices.
The final issue is the financial resources to implement. Resources are needed to invest in low-emissions innovations and technologies and to convince customers to use the company’s products even if they are not yet aware of the benefits of these products.
Therefore, for businesses to overcome all four of these barriers, all 4Ps are needed, in which the state plays a leading role with reasonable policies to encourage businesses to innovate technology, and this is what Vietnam is doing very well.
- Since its inception, SCG Group has defined its vision as developing production in parallel with the benefits of the community. Starting from the goal of sustainable development, SCG is implementing a comprehensive Green Growth strategy through the ESG 4 Plus approach, which includes four major goals: aiming for net zero emissions, green development, reducing inequality, and promoting cooperation, fairness and transparency in all activities.
When it comes to inclusive growth and development, we aim that not only individual businesses but also the economy need to reduce emissions, create more jobs, contribute to the community for a better quality of life, happier, known as the Comprehensive Green Growth strategy.
For SCG and its member companies in Vietnam, the group's comprehensive Green Growth strategy is based on the "3G" principle - Green People, Green Process and Green Product. Some typical programs include the following:
- Promoting ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) activities in Vietnam is essential to achieve sustainable development goals and in line with global trends. There are a number of ways that the Government and businesses can consider to narrow the gap between awareness and implementation.
The legal framework is the most essential foundation to strengthen ESG activities. Over the past few years, the Vietnamese Government has had many initiatives related to this issue, including planning to establish a carbon trading market by 2028 and the National Action Plan for Circular Economy (NAPCE) framework that is expected to be approved soon.
In addition, financial support and incentives for ESG projects are also important, along with training programs for businesses and stakeholders to close the knowledge gap. Businesses should also consider integrating ESG criteria into their long-term development strategies.
Last but not least, public-private partnerships and international partnerships are essential to make ESG goals a reality.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/scg-cam-ket-cung-viet-nam-thuc-day-kinh-te-tuan-hoan-20250106102629692.htm
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